EXPERT ADVICE

How to Walk to the South Pole

The Devil is in the details.

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Credit: www.scottexpedition.com

Pulling off the Scott Expedition is an historically impressive endeavor any way you look at it. Without underplaying the physical challenges that Saunders and L'Herpiniere are enduring right now though, much of the hardest work has been basic logistics. As Saunders is quick to note, you don't just wake up one day and decide to traipse off to the South Pole – pulling all the details together literally takes years. "Figuring everything out – chartering planes, hiring pilots, getting permits, using the airstrips. It's a complex project," Saunders says. "We've had to work for more than a decade to get this off the ground."

On a personal, physical level, Saunders and L'Herpiniere have also had to dedicate themselves to accumulating the know-how and abilities to even consider such an undertaking. "This is the culmination of using a lot of expeditions as stepping stones leading up to this one," Saunders says. "This is my 11th big expedition. I've spent more than 300 nights in a tent. I'm at a point where it's a viable undertaking."